Under a Honda Accord... !

[desert_max]

I haven't been on for a while, but still happily ride the Yellow '94 - along with a couple of others. That's why I thought I'd post a quick reminder to keep alert and watch your back. Literally...

So, there I was last Saturday, riding my '85 ZL900 Eliminator and minding my own business, waiting for the light to turn green. I hear a crash and don't see anything. Next thing I know, I'm flying and rolling. A youngster (19) rear-ended the car behind me and shoved him into me. Let's just say the Honda came out on top. Literally.

The good news? I am fine. Better news? The bike isn't too bad. Dented tank. Fixable. Broken brake lever and turn signal. Rashed case. (Not too bad). Wasted D&D muffler. Broken footpeg. Something tweaked on rear end plastic. Oh, and my beloved bubble shield was ruined.

<< Bike ended up totaled by the insurance company. Schidt! >>

A good buddy I called arrived on the scene in MINUTES and we loaded my bike onto his truck and carried it to the house - after all the ceremonial BS.

So, police report, a totaled bike and I have work to do on that once beautiful ZL9. But, it will survive to fight another day and so will I.

I felt pretty lucky all in all...

 

[ninjaneer]

sorry to hear of the damage. glad you are well!

 

[a113ycat]

Holy Wow!!!! That looks kinda nasty! Im glad you were able to walk away. The ZL9 looks like it will make a donor to the next one you build. There are tons of places around AZ and So Cal to find restore-able Kawasaki's Its the rider that is hard to restore.

 

[Rollie]

That coulda been a lot worse. Glad you're O.K. Sorry about the Kaw. Had a Z1-A back in the day. scary m.f. , kinda like a Max.

I would suggest you go get checked out by a Dr. to make sure you don't have any late rising injury or aggravation of a pre-existing condition. A week sometimes isn't long enough for a problem to arise. Also gives you some leverage when property damage value is discussed. You don't have to settle the whole claim when property damages are negoiated. Statute of limitations vary from state to state on bodily injury claims.

unk:

 

[one2dmax]

Bummer Dude!

 

[RaWarrior]

With the older bikes it doesn't take much to have them declared as totaled. A buddy had his old Magna backed into in a parking lot and just knocked over. Dented tank, busted blinkers, and the handlebar was a bit tweaked. Insurance totaled it out....since it's book value was only like $1200.

But glad you walked away from it....paint and dents are a lot easier to fix than bones and nerves.

 

[Lew L]

Almost the same thing happened to my son on a ride with his new wife on my old CB900F. They came out of it fine----- HOPE YOU ARE ALSO.
Lew

 

[Fire-medic]

I'm glad you are OK. As was mentioned, when the value is barely >$1K, it doesn't take much damage to total it. I had some woman turn left in-front of me which totaled a perfectly good KZ550. I think the worst damage was levers, master cyl. & a handlebar but-totaled.

Speaking of ZL-series bikes, I was at the scrap metal yard today & there was a near-complete ZL600, it looked to be. It was kinda hard to discern, it was on-top of Mt. Trashmore, but I did climb-up to see if either of the cast wheels were 17 or 18", no luck! I am looking for cheap rims as donors for going to 17" or 18" on my bike. Pretty-wweathered, but I didn't see any real crash damage, but it did look like a bike left outside for a dozen years & not covered.

 

[CaptainKyle]

We can repair bikes glad your ok !

 

[desert_max]

I'm glad you are OK. As was mentioned, when the value is barely >$1K, it doesn't take much damage to total it.

Well, this particular ZL was worth quite a bit more than $1000. I knew how insurance worked and had an "agreed" value policy. Best thing you can do in these cases as otherwise, you get blue book. I got the agreed value minus salvage - which was quite low. And the bike is still in my garage. Streetable with about $50, restored for $400 or so.

Salvage title, but can be re-registered. Collector value is lost forever, but it is still the same bad hombre.

 

[Fire-medic]

Well, this particular ZL was worth quite a bit more than $1000. I knew how insurance worked and had an "agreed" value policy. Best thing you can do in these cases as otherwise, you get blue book. I got the agreed value minus salvage - which was quite low. And the bike is in the garage. Streetable with about $50, restored for $400 or so.

Salvage title, but can be re-registered. Collector value is lost forever.

For a mass-produced bike, yes, maybe, but with the passage of time, less-plentiful bikes which have been salvaged still have value. That is assuming they are restored to functionality or better, such as full cosmetic & mechanical repair. Put it back on the road & now you can run-up the mi. & you don't have to worry about "too-many mi." on it! It seems more than half the Japanese bikes are discarded or, as our English friends say, "sent to the breakers," by the time 30K rolls around.